Many young people want to become vegetarian (no animal flesh, but usually including eggs, dairy products, and honey), or vegan (no animal products whatsoever) for environmental, animal rights, or nutritional reasons even if the rest of their family eats meat. This often causes concern for their meat-eating parents, however, vegetarian diets, when done properly, are some of the most healthy diets around.
If your family is already vegetarian and eats a well-balanced traditional vegetarian diet, chances are you’ve learned to combine plant foods in a way that gives you enough protein and iron to thrive. However, if your family eats a traditional American diet, you may develop some nutritional deficiencies if you simply drop animal products from your diet without substituting plant foods that are high in calcium, vitamin D, protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, and omega-3 fatty acids.
When you make the switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet, make sure you include plenty of the following categories of foods in your daily diet:
High protein foods
| Vegan | Vegetarians also include |
| Beans, lentils, nuts, peanuts, nut butter, seeds, quinoa, tofu, soy or pea milk (not nut or grain milk, they’re low in protein) | Eggs, cheese, cow’s milk, and yogurt |
High iron foods Tip: eat these foods with foods high in vitamin C to increase absorption of iron
| Vegan and Vegetarian | High vitamin C foods |
| Beans, lentils, nuts, peanuts, nut butter, tofu, seeds, quinoa, fortified cereals, dried fruit (apricots, raisins, figs) sea vegetables (Nori, dulce, wakame) | Broccoli, peppers, berries, tomatoes, citrus fruit |
High Calcium foods
| Vegan | Vegetarians also include |
| calcium-fortified plant milk, Calcium-fortified cereals, Calcium-fortified juice. Firm tofu, Calcium supplements. There are small amounts of calcium in citrus fruits, almonds, green vegetables, and soybeans* | Cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese |
*There are no natural vegan foods high in calcium, so eating fortified foods or taking supplements is necessary.
High Vitamin D foods
| Vegan | Vegetarians also include |
| Vitamin D-fortified cereals and plant milk* | Cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese |
*There are no natural vegan foods high in Vitamin D, so eating fortified foods or taking supplements is necessary. You do get some vitamin D from exposure to sunlight in the warmer months, but most vegans and many vegetarians still need supplements or fortified foods.
High Vitamin B12 foods
| Vegan | Vegetarians also include |
| Vitamin-fortified breakfast cereals, vitamin-fortified plant milk, fortified nutritional yeast* | Cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese |
*There are no natural vegan foods high in B12, so eating fortified foods or taking supplements is necessary.
High Zinc foods
| Vegan | Vegetarians also include |
| Nuts, peanuts, nut butter, seeds, tofu, fortified cereals, dark chocolate | Cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese |
Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids
Chia seeds, ground flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, canola oil
A consultation with a registered dietitian is a great idea if you’re new to vegetarianism.